


See You

by punkrockgaia



Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: Bad Eyesight, Feeling dorktastic, Gen, Kids can be so cruel, No smut they're kids for Void's sake, lying, mild bullying
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-27
Updated: 2014-08-27
Packaged: 2018-02-15 00:58:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2209644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/punkrockgaia/pseuds/punkrockgaia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Earl's been keeping some secrets from his best friend.</p>
            </blockquote>





	See You

**Author's Note:**

> This story is based on a headcanon I have about Cecil's nearsightedness and [this picture](http://videntefernandez.tumblr.com/post/95573321228/so-i-was-talking-to-punkrockgaia-and-she-had-this) by VidenteFernandez. Simon is Cecil's older brother and Maybelle is Earl's younger sister, for those who are curious.

"Tell me what you look like again, Early." Cecil was sitting cross-legged on the ground in front of the school, his nose about an inch away from Earl's, squinting. It wasn't that Cecil couldn't see, it was that he couldn't see well. Earl was kind of an abstract blob of color and sound, coppery-red over a whitish color that reminded Cecil of goat's milk yogurt, then some purple, then some brown, then more of the whitish color. If he got up _really_ close, as he was now, he could see that Earl had red-and-black and black-and-red eyes.

"Well, I'm really handsome, and I'm tough-looking too."

"Ooh!"

"Yeah! I have, uh, a scar on my cheek from fightin', and, uh, I look kinda like Rambunctious Jones!" _Rambunctious Jones_ was a television series that he and Cecil liked a lot, about a cowboy who tamed wild spiderwolves and brought justice to the wide-open desert.

" _Really?_ " Cecil thought for a moment, then stopped and frowned. "But wait. What does Rambunctious Jones look like?"

"Oh, he's **awesome**! He's super-tall, and he's really strong, and he has this cool beard..."

"You have a beard, Early?" Cecil brought up his hand and touched Earl on the cheek.

"Well, no, I'm eight, Cee-Cee. But I think I might grow one next year!"

"Woooowwww..."

"Yeah, I'm pretty neat."

"Yay, I can't wait!"

"Can't wait for what?"

"To see you! I'm getting glasses! Josie's taking me to pick them up today!"

"Uh, what?"

"Yeah!" They heard a car horn honk. Cecil jumped to his feet, excited. "There she is! You wanna come with us?"

"Uh, no, no, I have, uh, I have to get home. Momma said."

"Oh, okay." Cecil was disappointed, but he knew that Earl was a good boy who always obeyed his Momma. He brightened. "I guess I'll _see_ you tomorrow, Early!"

"Yeah, see you, Cee."

Cecil cocked his head to one side. "C-U-C? What does that spell?" He thought a moment, then grinned. "Ohh, I get it!" The car horn blared again. "Bye-bye, Early!" He ran towards the big blue blur that was Josie's car.

***********************  
Earl watched Cecil run off, his heart sinking. He hadn't been exactly honest with Cecil about what he looked like. For starters, he didn't have a scar on his face from fighting. He didn't have anything on his face except for normal face stuff, and, of course, the stupid freckles. He didn't look tough. He was taller than Cecil, but he was kinda skinny and shrimpy, not all muscly and mean. The only thing he had in common with Rambunctious Jones was that they both had arms, legs, and a head. Why, he probably wouldn't even be able to grow a beard next year! He was a dirty liar.

He stood up and started to shuffle home. He didn't know why he had lied to Cecil. Okay, yes, he did. Cecil was the only kid that didn't make fun of the way Earl looked. The other kids called him stuff like Gingersnaps and Howdy Doody, and mean older kids like Simon called him Fire Crotch, which he still didn't get. They said that he didn't have a soul, and that he blinded them when he went out in the sun, and they tried to play connect-the-dots with his freckles. It sucked to look so dorky. So the fact that Cecil couldn't see very well was kind of a plus, because it meant that Earl could look like whatever he wanted to, as far as Cecil was concerned. But that was all over now.

Earl's mind spun with ideas as he frantically tried to figure out a way to make himself look like the cool guy of his imagination. He was a Scout, and Scouts were resourceful!

Maybe if he tried really hard, he _could_ grow a beard! He squinted his eyes and pushed really hard, but all that came out was a little fart. Okay, so that didn't work. 

Could he give himself a cool facial scar? He picked up a sharp rock and brought it close to his face, but he couldn't go through with it. What if he bled all over his nice, clean uniform? Momma would be steamed.

Maybe he could pretend to be somebody else and tell Cecil that Earl moved away. Then he imagined how sad Cecil would be if that happened, and ditched that plan immediately. There was nothing to do but accept the consequences. Cecil would take one look at him and laugh and make fun of him, just like everyone else did.

He reached the front door of his house and let himself in, then started back to his room.

"Earl Vengeance Harlan, where do you think you're going? You get back here and give your Momma a hug!"

Earl groaned and trudged back to the living room, where his mother sat, big and soft and warm in her Barcalounger. He allowed himself to be drawn into a hug, but he didn't hug back. 

"What's wrong, son?"

Earl almost spilled the beans, but what was he supposed to say? That he'd been lying about what he looked like to his nearly-blind friend to make him like him better, but now the jig was up? Momma would be so disappointed in him. She didn't raise him to be a liar. 

"Nothing, Momma. I'm just tired. Can I go lie down?"

She looked at him, concerned. "That's not like you, Earl. Are you feeling sick?"

Earl was feeling sick, but not in any way that could be cured with baby aspirin or a poultice. "No, Momma. I just want to go lie down. Can I?"

"Of course. Supper won't be ready until your Daddy gets home."

Earl couldn't imagine he'd feel like eating, but he nodded anyway, then went down the short hall to the room that he shared with his brothers, Clem and Otis, neither of whom were present, thank the Elder Beings from Beyond the Stars. He lay down on his bed, head in the pillow, and fell into a light, morose sleep, only to be awakened by his mother's voice.

"Earl, you have a visitor..." He didn't have time to raise his face to look before he was hit with a solid ball of Cecil, jumping onto his bed.

"EarlyEarlyEarly! It's sooooo cooooool! Did you know that trees have leaves on them? And I saw a cactus, and a bird, and buildings, and oh boy!"

"That's cool, Cee." 

"Come on, Earl, get up! I wanna go look at stuff." Cecil started yanking on Earl's arm, trying to get him to turn over. 

"No, Cee, I'm tired."

"C'mon, please, Earl?"

"I said no! Go home, willya?"

"Oh." Cecil sounded incredibly sad and hurt, and Earl's bed got lighter by the weight of exactly one overexcited eight-year-old. Earl heard soft footsteps walk toward his door, and he knew that he couldn't disappoint his best friend like that, even if he probably wouldn't be his best friend any more, once he saw what a goon Earl was. He sat up. 

"Wait, Cee-Cee, come back."

Cecil slowly turned, and then stopped and stared. Earl's heart dropped as he waited for Cecil to call him a dork.

Then Cecil's eyes widened behind the thickest pair of glasses Earl had ever seen, and he **beamed** as he ran back to Earl's bed.

"Early? Is that you?"

"Y-yeah..."

"Oh, wow, you look SO COOL!" He reached out his hand and ran his fingers over Earl's nose and cheekbones. "You're covered in dots!"

"Yeah, Cee, those are my freckles."

" _That's_ what freckles are? I figured the way that the other kids talked about them, they were something gross!"

Earl laughed. "Like what?"

"I don't know, weird hairy things. It sounds hairy. Freck! Freck!" Cecil said, flicking his fingers like he was spritzing water off of them. "But these are cool... It's like you're a gecko or something! I don't have any dots. Hey, did you know that I have a third eye in the middle of my forehead?"

"Of course you do, Cee. Isn't that what you use to get around? Used, I guess..."

"Well, yeah, but I didn't know it was in my _forehead_. It always feels like it's somewhere up here." He waved his hand about three inches above his head. He shrugged. "Who knew?"

"And you're not mad that I don't look like Rambunctious Jones?"

Cecil rolled his eyes, the lower two of which looked about three times as large due to the magnifying effect of the new lenses. "Well, _duh_. Rambunctious is a _grownup_ and you're a _kid._ But when you grow up, I bet you'll be twice as tough!"

"Wow, thanks, Cee..."

"Can we go out in the backyard now?"

"Okay." 

"Yay! I want to look at grass, and at bugs, and at something really gross!"

"You haven't seen Maybelle's face yet."

Cecil giggled. "C'mon Early, let's go!" He grabbed Earl's hand and the two of them scampered through the house and into the big, bright outdoors, both seeing clearly.

**Author's Note:**

> Like this fic? Come howl at the void with me at punkrockgaia.tumblr.com.


End file.
